Control valve having independently driven valves

ABSTRACT

The control valve has a quick-acting main valve and a safety valve which are independently operated either by a working medium which is being controlled or by an auxiliary pressure medium. The control for the valves includes a number of control elements which allow a pressure medium to be delivered to selected chambers of the two valves while venting other chambers.

This invention relates to a control valve having independently driven valves and particularly to a control for driving the valves.

Heretofore, various type of valves have been known to use pairs of valve spindles and valve bodies in order to control a flow of working medium. For example, in one known valve combination, both a main valve and an auxiliary valve have been used in a concentric arrangement. In this case, the main valve has usually had a valve body mounted on a spindle to cooperate with a valve seat while the second valve has had a valve body mounted on a spindle concentrically within the main valve which valve body cooperates with a valve seat in the main valve. The spindle of the main valve has also had a guide or the like to guide the spindle of the second valve. Thus, these valves are in parallel and are capable of independent operation by separate independent drives. In addition, the drive for the second valve has been rigidly connected to the spindle of the main valve and both drives have been in the form of pressure-medium-operated servo-motors.

However, the valve combinations of the above type usually have complicated drives which are bulky and expensive. Further, the complexity of these valves has impaired the reliability of these valves in operation.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a control valve having two valves with a simple drive.

It is another object of the invention to provide a control valve of dual valve type which is highly reliable in operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a control valve of a dual valve construction which requires a relatively small number of control elements.

Briefly, the invention provides a control valve of dual-valve type which is constructed with a main valve and a second valve. The main valve includes a movably mounted hollow spindle, a first valve body mounted on the spindle and having a passage for a flow of working medium, and a valve seat about the passage. The second valve includes a spindle movably mounted concentrically within the hollow spindle and a second valve body mounted on the spindle for sealingly seating on the valve seat of the main valve in order to close the passage through the main valve body.

In addition, servo-motors are incorporated in the control valve to drive the respective valves. To this end, one servo-motor has a piston secured to the spindle of the main valve to divide an enclosing chamber into two pressure-receiving chambers. Similarly, the other servo-motor has a piston secured to the spindle of the second valve and slidably received within the hollow spindle of the main valve to define two pressure-receiving chambers therein. Also, the cylinder chambers of the two servo-motors which are closest the valve bodies can also communicate with one another via a duct.

The control for the two valves employs a minimum of control elements, such as solenoid valves, in order to cause opening and closing of the valves. To this end, a first control element connects each chamber of each servo-motor which is closest to the valve bodies to a pressure medium source. This source may be an independent source of the working medium to be controlled by the control valve. A second control element also connects these chambers to a discharge line. A third control element communicates the chambers of the servo-motors which are remote from the valve bodies to each other while a fourth control element connects the chamber of the first servo-motor remote from the first valve body to a pressure medium supply, again either an independent source of the working medium being controlled. A fifth control element connects the cylinder chamber of the second servo-motor remote from the second valve body to a discharge line.

The third control element also cooperates with a rod which has a longitudinal passage which communicates via ports in the remote chamber of the second servo-motor and with the control element via a line.

The control valve also employs a housing having at least a pair of spigots for a flow of working medium and a valve seat about one spigot on which the valve body of the main valve can seat. Preferably, the medium to be controlled by the valve is used in the housing as a quick-closing valve, whereas the second valve is used as a safety valve.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an axial section through a control valve according to the invention; and

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are diagrammatic axial sections similar to FIG. 1 to show how the valves operate.

Referring to FIG. 1, the valve includes a valve housing 1 having an inlet spigot 1' and an outlet spigot 1". An insert 3 fits into the valve housing 1 and is secured thereto via bolts 2. This insert 3 forms a valve guide 4 and is of hollow construction to define a first cylindrical chamber 5 which is closed by a cover 6. The cover 6 is secured to the insert 3 via the bolts 2.

A first or quick-closing valve I is formed within the housing 1 by means of a spindle 10 which carries a valve body 11 and a valve seat 7 on the housing 1. As shown, the spindle 10 is slidably mounted within the valve guide 4 for movement of the valve body 11 towards and away from the valve seat 7 while the valve body 11 has a central passage 25 about which a second valve seat 9 is formed. The spindle 10 is also secured, via bolts 12, to a piston 13 which is movable in seal-tight manner, via piston rings 14, in the cylinder chamber 5. As shown, the piston 13 divides the chamber 5 into a lower cylinder chamber 15 near the valve body 11 and an upper cylindrical chamber 16 remote from the valve body 11.

The piston 13 cooperates with the insert 3 to form a servo-motor which operates the valve I, the spindle 10 forming the piston rod of the servo-motor.

A second or safety valve II is also mounted in the housing 1 within the first valve I. To this end, the second valve II is formed of the valve seat 9 in the valve body 11, a spindle 20 which is slidably mounted concentrically within a valve guide 8 of the spindle 10, and a valve body 21 threaded onto the spindle 20. The spindle 10 is hollow in order to define a cylindrical chamber 22 and the spindle 20 carries a piston 23 which is slidably mounted in the chamber 22 to subdivide the chamber 22 into upper and lower cylindrical chambers 42, 45.

The piston 23 cooperates with the spindle 10 to form a servo-motor for actuating the valve II with the spindle 20 acting as the servo-motor piston rod.

The valve body 11 is formed with a plurality of ports 26 which communicate the internal passage 25 with the exterior of the valve body 11. When the valve body 21 is raised from the valve seat 9, the ports 26 are able to pass a working medium through the valve body 11. Thus, even though the main quick-closing valve I is closed, the safety valve II may be open.

A position detector is disposed within the valve in order to indicate the position of the safety valve II. To this end, the position detector includes a head member 50 which is mounted on the cover 6 as by bolts and which defines a cylindrical measuring chamber 31. In addition, the safety valve II has a rod 30 which extends from the piston 23 through the piston 13 and cover 6 and which terminates within the cylindrical measuring chamber 31. Also, a plurality of e.g. three, position sensors or detectors 32, 33, 34 are located within the measuring chamber 31. These sensors 32-34 function to produce different electrical signals in dependence on the position of the rod 30.

The rod 30 is formed with a longitudinal passage 40 which communicates via wall passages 41 with the upper cylinder chamber 42 remote from the valve body 21 as well as with the measuring chamber 31 at the open end.

The spindle 10 includes two ducts 43, 44 which interconnect the two cylinder chambers 15, 45 of the servo-motors located closest to the valve body 11.

In order to operate the valve, a control composed of a plurality of control elements, such as solenoids, is interposed between the valve chambers and the inlet spigot 1' as well as between the valve chambers and an external or auxiliary pressure medium source. For this purpose, a pair of side members 52, 54 are disposed laterally on the insert 3. Also, a pair of lines 55, 55' extend on opposite sides of the control valve from the inlet spigot 1' to check valves 56, 56' disposed in the side members 52, 54. These check valves 56, 56' are connected on the downstream side by way of a respective duct in the side members 52, 54 to one chamber each of two solenoid valves 57, 57' of the control. These chambers are, in turn, connected by way of ducts 58, 58' to the cylinder chamber 16 remote from the valve body 11 and to solenoid valves 59, 59' also disposed in the side members 52, 54. The other side of the solenoid valves 59, 59' are connected each by way of a line 60, 60' to the measuring chamber 31. The measuring chamber 31 is, in duplicate connected with a discharge line 65 via two series-connected solenoid valves 61, 62 and 61', 62', respectively. The cylinder chamber 15 is connected via a solenoid valve 66 and a passage 67 in one side member 52 to a discharge line 68. In similar fashion, the cylinder chamber 15 is also connected via a solenoid valve 70 and a passage 70' to a downstream chamber 56" of the check valve 56' in the side member 54.

In addition, an auxiliary pressure medium source (not shown) e.g. a container of pressurized nitrogen, is connected via a line 72 and a check valve 71 in the side member 54 to the solenoid valve 70 and line 70' to the cylindrical chamber 15 as well as to the downstream chamber 56" of the check valve 56'. This connection allows operation of the valve independently of the pressure in the inlet spigot 1'.

The check valves 56, 56', 71 are safety devices. Should any of the lines 55 or 55' or 72 fracture, the check valves 56, 56', 71 prevent pressure medium from escaping from the pressure-medium-filled cylinder chambers of the servo-motors. As shown, the check valves 56, 56', 71 are biased to close the respective lines 55, 55', 72 in response to a predetermined drop in pressure in the line.

In the embodiment described, the duplication of some elements is intended to show how redundancy can increase the reliability of operation of the valve combination. So as not to overload the drawings, this redundancy feature is not consistently shown, since the skilled addressee knows that the safety of the valve combination can be increased by the provision of additional elements in parallel or series and knows how to do this.

The operation of the valve combination will be described hereinafter with reference to the diagrammatic FIGS. 2-4. For the sake of clarity, the redundant elements are omitted in FIGS. 2-4. The working medium which the valve combination is required to control flows in the opposite direction as compared with FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows the valve fully open, i.e. the two valves I, II are fully open. In order to move the valve into this fully open position, the solenoid valves 57 and 66 first close, a state indicated by a transverse line through the valves. Solenoid valve 70 then opens, so that the cylinder chambers 15, 45 nearer the valve bodies 11, 21 are connected to the inlet spigot 1'. The solenoid valves 59, 61, 62 (the latter is not shown in FIG. 2) open simultaneously, so that pressure is reduced in the two cylinder chambers 16, 42 (which are remote from the valve bodies 11, 21) since these latter chambers are then connected to the discharge line 65 where the pressure is lower than the pressure acting on the valve bodies 11, 21. The cylinder chamber 16 communicates with the discharge line 65 by way of duct 58 while the cylinder chamber 42 communicates with the discharge line 65 by way of the longitudinal passage 40 in the rod 30. With the valve in this position, the end of the rod 30 is at the height of the uppermost sensor 34. The sensor 34 thus produces a signal corresponding to this position.

FIG. 3 shows the valve partly open, i.e. valve I is in the closed state and valve II is fully open. In this position, the cylinder chamber 16 remote from main valve body 11 receives pressure medium from the inlet spigot 1' via the valve 57 which is now open. In addition, the valves 70 and 59 are in the closed state the valves 66, 61, 62 (the latter is not shown in FIG. 3) are open. Thus, the cylinder chambers 45 and 15 are in communication with the discharge line 68 while the cylinder chamber 42 is in communication with the discharge line 65. As shown, the discharge line 68 connects to the discharge line 65. With the valve in this position, a corresponding signal is produced by the position sensor 33.

FIG. 4 shows the valve fully closed, i.e. both valves I, II are in the closed state. In this position, there is no pressure acting in the two cylinder chambers 15, 45 since the valve 66 is open and valve 70 is in the closed state. However, the valves 57, 59 are open and the valve 61 is in the closed state. Thus, the two cylinder chambers 16, 42 are pressurized. The position sensor 32 thus produces a signal corresponding to this position of the valve.

The various solenoid valves 57, 57', 59, 59', 61, 61', 62, 62', 66 and 70 of the control are operated by any suitable control means (not shown) so as to carry out the the function of the valve and to place the valve in the various positions shown in FIGS. 2-4. For example, in order to open the valve from the position shown in FIG. 1, the following program is initiated:

    ______________________________________                                                VALVE        POSITION                                                   ______________________________________                                                57, 57'      Closed                                                            66           Closed                                                            70           Open                                                              59, 59'      Open                                                              61, 61'      Open                                                              62, 62'      Open                                                       ______________________________________                                    

This causes the working medium in the valve spigot 1' to flow via the line 55', check valve 56', solenoid valve 70 and line 70' into the chamber 15, 45. At the same time, the chambers 16, 42 are vented to the discharge line 65. Thus, both valves I, II are raised under the pressure of the working medium.

Next, in order to close the quick-acting main valve I, the following program is initiated:

    ______________________________________                                                VALVE        POSITION                                                   ______________________________________                                                57, 57'      Open                                                              59, 59'      Closed                                                            70           Closed                                                            61, 61'      Open                                                              62, 62'      Open                                                              66           Open                                                       ______________________________________                                    

This causes the working medium in the valve spigot 1' to flow via the line 55, 55', check valves 56, 56', solenoid valves 57, 57' and lines 58, 58' into the chamber 16. At the same time, the chamber 15 is vented to the discharge line 68. Thus, the main valve I is closed while the safety valve II remains open. It is to be noted that the travel of the piston 20 of the safety valve II is limited downwardly as viewed by the valve seat 9 and upwardly by the piston 10 both of which act as abutments for the valve body 21.

Next, in order to close the safety valve II, the following program is initiated:

    ______________________________________                                                VALVE        POSITION                                                   ______________________________________                                                66           Open                                                              70           Closed                                                            57, 57'      Open                                                              59, 59'      Open                                                              61, 61'      Closed                                                            62, 62'      Closed                                                     ______________________________________                                    

This causes the working medium in the valve spigot 1' to flow not only via the lines 55, 55', check valves 56, 56', solenoid valves 57, 57' and lines 58, 58' to the chamber 16 but also via the solenoid valves 59, 59', lines 60, 60' and passage 40 in the rod 30 to the chamber 42. At the same time, the chambers 15,45 are vented via the discharge line 68. Thus, the safety valve II closes under the pressure of the working medium.

The signals from the sensors 32, 33, 34 may also be transmitted to a suitable means to e.g. visually indicate the position of the safety valve II.

The invention thus provides the advantages of a simple clear construction, fast closing of the fast-closing valve, very reduced discharge of medium in valve operation, high reliability of operation and a minimum number of control elements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A control valve comprisinga housing having at least a pair of spigots for a flow of working medium therethrough and a first valve seat therein; a main valve including a movably mounted hollow spindle, a first valve body mounted on said spindle for sealingly seating on said first valve seat, said valve body having a passage for a flow of working medium therethrough, and a second valve seat within said first valve body about said passage; a second valve including a second spindle movably mounted concentrically within said hollow spindle and a second valve body mounted on said second spindle for sealingly seating on said second valve seat; a first servo-motor for moving said main valve and including a cylindrical chamber in said housing, and a first piston secured to said hollow spindle and slidably received in said chamber to define two chambers therein; a second servo-motor for moving said second valve and including a second piston secured to said second spindle and slidably received in said hollow spindle to define two chambers therein; a first control element for connecting said cylinder chamber of each said servo-motor closest said valve bodies to a pressure medium source; a second control element for connecting said cylinder chamber of each servo-motor closest said valve bodies to a discharge line; a third control element communicating said cylinder chambers of said servo-motors remote from said valve bodies to each other; a fourth control element for connecting said cylinder chamber of said first servo-motor remote from said first valve body to a pressure medium supply; and a fifth control element for connecting said cylinder chamber of said servo-motor remote from said second valve body to a discharge line.
 2. A control valve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first spindle includes at least one duct communicating the cylinder chambers of each servo-motor located closest to said first valve body.
 3. A control valve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pressure medium supply is in one of said spigots and which further comprises at least one line connected to said one spigot and to said fourth control element whereby the working medium to be controlled is used as a pressure medium to control said servo-motors.
 4. A control valve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said control elements are each solenoid valves.
 5. A control valve as set forth in claim 1 which further comprises a line connecting one of said spigots to said fourth control element and a check valve in said line biased to close said line in response to a predetermined drop in pressure in said line.
 6. A control valve as set forth in claim 5 wherein said line communicates with said first control element to deliver a pressure medium thereto.
 7. A control valve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first servo-motor includes an insert mounted in said housing for defining said cylindrical drawer. 